For Richard's Recovery

$730
of $9,000 goal

name is Anikke Myers. I am a working artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Four years ago I moved here from Pennsylvania. Since then I have been thinking deeply about the questions laced into memory, consciousness, and experience. In particular, how those questions affect our daily participation in the world. While I feel like these questions are ones that all artists, and all people in fact, consider at different points in their lives they have become all the more poignant for me since my father’s brain surgery in 2012.

My father, Richard W. Myers, who taught me both how to make art and how to meditate, was found to have a tennis ball sized tumor in the center of his brain in 2011. While the tumor was not malignant the resulting surgery was long and left permanent neurological damage. His short-term memory is severely impaired to the point where he may ask me the same question five times in the course of a ten-minute conversation. He is unable to live alone and because of life circumstances it is impossible for either my brothers or me to take care of him at home. He currently resides in a permanent care facility in Pennsylvania near where I grew up. Though, I must admit, we are fortunate. Dad is otherwise healthy, happy and always excited to tell us stories about his younger days, most of which he’s never shared before, it is difficult and I wish we could do much more for him.

Before his surgery my dad was an active outdoorsman, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, and skiing regularly, but now he spends very little time outside or moving around at all. My father’s assets were quickly diminished before his surgery when he was too sick to work and his house foreclosed upon by the bank soon after.

Because of the restrictions of his Medicaid he participates in no cognitive therapy or active rehabilitation of any kind. In his 60’s, my dad is too young to be locked away in a hospital for the rest of his life. I am looking for support in providing him with outside rehabilitation or at least therapies and activities that get him moving, outside and feeling more mobile. He does not have a generative neurological disease with the proper treatments and exercises there is potential for short term memory improvement and therefore, I think, a more fulfilling life.

I am interested in setting up a fund not just for my dad but also for research into rehabilitation of brain trauma. Because my father has been so influential on my art making throughout my life I want to use my art as a way of sharing information about the issues I have become aware of through this experience and also raising money for my dad’s treatment. All of the work at my show will be for sale and 100% of the profit will go towards his expenses. However, I need a bit of help getting that going.

This GoFundMe Campaign will help me accomplish something I have been able to do for my father while I have been in school, provide a service to the community, and hopefully be just the beginning of work dedicated to rehabilitation of brain tumor patients.

The funds from this campaign will be divided between my dad’s medical fund and donation to research into traumatic memory loss and brain trauma. I am currently seeking out research organizations and will update the campaign as I make progress.

As this campaign continues I will regularly update with info about my dad’s progress as well as my own. For those who are interested in seeing the work I am doing please don’t hesitate to visit my website or contact me with questions.

Thank you so much for all your love and support. I am touched by, not just the donations, but also the scope of human empathy stirred up by the exchange of stories and experience.
I have been sidetracked by a recent move but investigations into brain cancer research here in Albuquerque are coming along so I will share those findings soon.
Thank you!

It's been just over week and we are off to a great start. Just over $300! Thank you to all of those who have donated so far. I spoke with my dad today and he was incredibly touched that people have been so supportive. Please check out my dad's photographs: http://anikkemyers.com/conversations-in-past-tense
He has been asking for his camera quite a bit lately and I think that might be a wonderful way for him to stay mentally engaged. I read an article about how "life-logging cameras" can help patients with similar memory loss problems. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/05/lifelogging.camera.memory.loss/